Reliving the Atlanta Falcons’ top ten plays from the 2024 season

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

The Atlanta Falcons social team blessed us with their top ten plays from the 2024 season and the reception underneath it is…about what you would expect.

Fans are upset about the way that the season ended, and they have every right to be. Allowing the Buccaneers to overtake the division, not once, but twice, after sweeping them earlier in the year. Getting below-average play from a quarterback that is being paid a lion’s share of the current, and potentially future, salary cap. Seeing no identity from the defense that led to an embarrassing effort in the last two weeks of the season that eventually sealed their playoff fate. Oh man, the timeout fiasco! There was plenty for fans to gripe about as they sat at home for a seventh consecutive season.

On the other hand, some aspects of this season were not lost to the anguish of their defeats. Rather, there were more than a few moments that deserve to be celebrated.

The coming-out party of Bijan Robinson, the emergence of a potential franchise quarterback, a true identity on the offensive side of the football that can be built upon. Even a few plays from the defense can be celebrated. So, before we put that tattered, discolored bow on this season that deservedly should be deemed a failure, let’s celebrate the few moments where this team did make us feel something again.

10) Michael Penix’s 1^st TD Comes at the Best Possible Time

There’s no denying that if this game ends differently, there’s no way we’re keeping this at number ten. The number ten spot on a top ten is for those borderline special moments that could easily be overtaken by another moment in this season.

This was not one of those moments.

Throughout the day, Penix’s first touchdown eluded him. He missed KhaDarel Hodge on the back line of the end zone that same drive. Before Bijan Robinson outran the Commanders defense for his second score, Penix was stuffed on a QB sneak at the one-yard line.

It didn’t seem like it was going to be in the cards for the rookie gunslinger, especially when the Falcons only ran nine plays for 14 yards in the second half before they were tasked to tie the game up against a red-hot Commanders team with all of the momentum in a rocking Northwest Stadium with only 4:25 left to go in the game.

To everyone’s surprise, Atlanta was doing it. Staring down an early 3^rd & 5, a 4^th & 11 and a 2^nd & goal from the 26 after a Bijan Robinson direct snap went awry, Penix stayed calm and composed. And on 4^th & goal, with the Falcons’ season hanging in the balance, he finally got his moment.

In my opinion, this should be ranked much higher than tenth. It is the emergence of your potential franchise quarterback on one of the sport’s biggest stages: Sunday Night Football.

Putting it at the end of the list feels a bit disrespectful.

9) Matthew Judon Starts Rout vs. Giants

Before we say anything, let’s make this abundantly clear: This was a really bad New York Giants offense.

Even on their lone scoring drive, Jessie Bates had a chance for one of his patented deflating, drive-killing, red zone interceptions, but it slipped through his hands. On the next two plays, Drew Lock found rookie running back Tyrone Tracy, Jr. in the back of the end zone.

That would be the final bright spot for this Giants offense.

As the Giants limped out of halftime, down 17-7, you know they had thoughts that even they coughed the ball up twice (one of which is later on this list), they are still in this game. A weird bounce of the ball off of Kyle Pitts’ hands into the lap of cornerback Cordale Flott gave New York a semblance of life.

To make this a one-score game, all they had to do was drive down the field and score points.

That didn’t happen.

Zach Harrison and Arnold Ebiketie came unabated to Lock after an embarrassing showing from the right side of the offensive line. Lock tried to salvage the throw and find their main target Malik Nabers to get him going in the second half. Instead, the ball is batted up in the air by Harrison and into the waiting arms of Matthew Judon.

The rout was on.

8) Darnell Mooney Shrugs Off CJGJ and Shows Off Athleticism vs. Eagles

Man, the vibes coming into this game were at an all-time low.

Atlanta had just come off what was a putrid showing in their first game together against the Pittsburgh Steelers. There were questions about Kirk Cousins’ Achilles, whether Zac Robinson was the guy, why wasn’t Kirk under center, etc.

Then, coming out and only putting up three field goals in the first five possessions made fans feel…better. But there was still no buying into the product so far.

Balls from Kirk were still coming out scattershot and the timing just felt a tick off with all the receivers. All of them…except Darnell Mooney.

Mooney came to Atlanta because of the opportunity to play with Cousins and they had chemistry instantly. For the first few weeks, the emergency outlet on got-to-have-it downs wasn’t Pitts, it wasn’t London, it wasn’t Bijan, it was Mooney.

So, when Mooney had a one-on-one against Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on a potential explosive, there was no doubt that Cousins was taking that every day of the week.

The fact that it was Gardner-Johnson made it a bit sweeter. That photo of him in a Saints uniform kicking the Falcons logo remains burned in my brain, so to see him tossed off Mooney on the way to a significant six points in that game was just icing on the cake. Then, the backflip, which he landed, was the ice cream on the side that made it even more spectacular.

7) Drake London Puts Trevon Diggs on a Poster

The last time the Falcons felt like the team we thought they were before the meltdown.

The Falcons offense came out the gate sluggish, as one of those debilitating holding penalties that plagued this offense all year derailed the opening drive, giving the Cowboys the chance to put the first points on the board with a field goal.

Now, down 3-0, the Falcons had to put together a drive to get into the end zone or potentially go down two possessions to a struggling Cowboys defense.

Bijan and Kirk made sure that wasn’t the case.

The drive started with three straight explosive plays: A 22-yard out-breaking route to Darnell Mooney, a 16-yard burst led by Charlie Woerner and London for Robinson and another 18-yard grab by London, who showed off all 6’4” of him to bring in a slightly overthrown crosser from Cousins…little did we know that was only a sign of things to come. Four plays later, as Atlanta set up for first and goal, a slightly injured Trevon Diggs was rendered powerless by the 6’4”, 215-pound frame of London.

Crazily enough, those two catches for London were the only two targets for him on the day. But that did give him his sixth touchdown to that point, which matched his total touchdowns up to that point since entering the league in 2022.

6) Jessie Bates Makes Mayfield Pay for Trickery vs. Bucs

In Tampa Bay’s second meeting with Atlanta in Raymond James Stadium, they found themselves without their top two receiving options in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Even without that, quarterback Baker Mayfield made sure that everyone knew that it was National Tight Ends day and targeted tight end Cade Otton along with rookie receiver Jalen McMillan a ton in this game.

Coming out of halftime, the Falcons were hanging on to a one-possession lead, 24-17, when they did the one thing you can’t do coming out the half: Have a three-and-out.

Now, the Mayfield-led Bucs, at home, have all the momentum as they start their quest to tie the game up at their own 39-yard line.

After being pushed back to 2^nd & 19 with a holding call, Mayfield and this offense predicated on the short-passing game from Liam Coen (Mayfield ranks 29^th out of 34 qualified quarterbacks in air yards per attempt) threw two quick passes to get the first down. After a third quick screen gets them into Falcons territory, Coen believes it’s time for the kill shot.

Mayfield handed it off to running back Bucky Irving, Irving threw it back to Mayfield for the flea flicker and Mayfield gave a slight hesitation before finally deciding to give receiver Ryan Miller a chance.

That hesitation was all that Jessie Bates needed.

Bates went up and snagged this ball from poor Miller, who was just trying to do his job in relief of Godwin and Evans. But that’s what happens when you have a player like Bates.

Good things tend to happen as long as they’re on the field. Oh yeah, he also had a fumble recovery in this game, too.

5) Troy Andersen Pick-Six Stymies Red-Hot Start from the Visitors

The Visitors from New Orleans had one of the strongest starts you could have the first two weeks of the season. They exploded against the Carolina Panthers and Cowboys for 47 and 44, respectively.

The next week they got humbled by the Eagles, scoring their only touchdown late in the fourth quarter. This trip to Atlanta was supposed to be their “get-right” game so they could get back to their dominant ways.

The first two drives looked like they were going to be exactly that. There was that one snafu when Rahid Shaheed muffed a punt for a special teams touchdown, but besides that, it was a perfect start for the Visitors.

Derek Carr started the game 7-for-7 for 49 yards and the Falcons-killer himself Taysom Hill already had carved up Atlanta for two touchdowns as the Saints got the ball back again up 14-10.

This drive looked like it was going the same way as the previous, Kamara stretching the offense horizontally and Carr doing what he can to keep the passing game afloat. So far, Carr had success getting the ball out quickly, utilizing the team’s speed to outflank Atlanta’s defense.

However, on attempt number eight, Carr thought he had yet another quick toss to Olave, but cornerback Dee Alford sniffed it out and forced Carr to hesitate for a split second. That gave Matthew Judon just enough time to get his hand on the ball right after Carr let it go…and the rest is history.

One of the craziest aspects of this play is the speed Troy Andersen has as he returns this interception to the end zone. Chris Olave had a solid angle on Andersen, but the mix of size, strength and speed was too much for the receiver to make a play and Andersen made his first interception count.

From then on, the Saints had struggled to get back into the end zone, settling for six points throughout the third quarter and allowing the Falcons to pull off one of the best wins in this rivalry’s history. It was ony the second time in series history when the winner didn’t score a single offensive touchdown, and it led to one of my favorite stats from this season.

4) Jessie Bates does Jessie Bates Things vs. Giants

There were moments in this season where Jessie Bates was the only positive on the Falcons defense. And there were moments where the former All-Pro sparked the defense with a well-timed punch of the football or a crucial pass break-up. It’s just what he does.

He’s the leader of that secondary and of this defense…but he hadn’t had that signature moment that he did last season.

That pick-six against the New Orleans Saints was a Notice of Arrival for the league that Bates is still Bates. He had plays in games like the Tampa Bay interception, but they didn’t feel the same.

It wasn’t until the Giants got the ball back after their lone scoring drive that Jessie was able to turn the lights out on the Giants.

New York was moving down the field after a switch-release slant got the Giants offense toward midfield and the New York offense was actually driving down the field and into Falcons territory.

So, there they were. At the 48-yard line, 2^nd & 7. Lock telegraphed that he was looking for his favorite target, Wan’Dale Robinson on a quick hitch…and Jessie saw it the whole time.

This was Penix’s first start and the offense reflected that. They were slow out the gates and needed a little bit of help to get going. After that pick-six, the Falcons offense scored a touchdown on the next drive, threatened another touchdown before the weird Pitts interception, then scored one last touchdown in their first drive of the second half to put the game out of reach 31-7.

It all started with Jessie Bates doing things only the way Jessie Bates could.

3) Younghoe Koo Career Long Sends Visitors Back to the Swamp

When Alvin Kamara scored the touchdown to put the Visitors up 24-23 in Atlanta, I won’t lie, I was nervous. Cousins hadn’t been as sharp as you wanted him to. He was 20-of-31 for 233 yards and an interception, but there was a chance.

Up to that point, Younghoe Koo’s career-long had been 54 yards, but it was clear, at least at this point in the season, that he could boot it from longer.

Through the first three games of the season, it was business as usual. Koo made his kicks and kept us in the game when he was called upon. There were a few murmurs about his new kicking routine, but when we needed him to, he showed up just fine.

So, when Cousins and company drew a crucial defensive pass interference on Paulson Adebo to get Atlanta close to field goal range, it felt like destiny. But it was just outside that little green line…so the worry started to set in a bit. It settled in even more when Cousins threw three straight incompletions and Koo had to trot out to hit an almost 60-yard field goal to send the Visitors back to the swamp.

Could Koo do it?

Absolutely. Drive home safely Falcons fans. We don’t have anything to worry about with Koo…at least not this week.

2) Drake London Couldn’t Believe It and Neither Could We vs. Eagles

When Gardner-Johnson met Bijan Robinson in the hole and stonewalled him…I just knew the game was over.

I just knew that this Eagles offense, that had been grinding our defense to a pulp, would find a way to get the big play from Jalen Hurts, or Saquon Barkley, or Dallas Godert to score a touchdown and put this game away with a touchdown or just grind the clock out.

And they almost did…Barkley just dropped it and left the smallest of windows for Cousins to pull off the miracle. With Matt Ryan in attendance on the ManningCast.

Well, let’s see if Cousins hit the trifecta:

– Cousins fires a fastball to Pitts…there’s the positive first play.

– Cousins finds Mooney on gains of 21 and 26 to get the ball to the 12-yard line…There are your two explosive plays

Now, we just need points.

Three plays later, on 3^rd & 5 at the 7-yard line, London gave them to you.

Thanks, Matt, we couldn’t have done it without you.

1) KhaDarel Hodge Gives us a Moment for The Ages vs. Bucs in OT

Throughout the years, since he became a Falcon in 2022, KhaDarel Hodge had simply put his head down and worked wherever he was needed. If it was kick coverage, he was going to show out. If we needed him at WR3, he was going to contribute. If he’s needed as a gunner, he’s going to be the first one down there.

In 2024, it felt like Hodge did more than just play special teams, he excelled. He had the wherewithal to fall on the fumble in the Saints game to get Atlanta on the board. He blocked not just one, but two punts against the Las Vegas Raiders to set our offense up in position to get some kind of points amid Cousins’ midseason meltdown.

He was all over the field, which led to his being called to be the NFC Special Teams Representative in this year’s Pro Bowl.

But Hodge’s best moment wasn’t on special teams in 2024.

Oh no, Hodge gave the NFL world one of those moments that will go up to a friend in the future and ask “You remember the KhaDarel Hodge game on Thursday Night Football?”

This game was the pinnacle of “We’re so back” in Atlanta. Cousins had been carving this Buccaneers defense with confidence and poise that reminded fans why he was paid $100 million guaranteed.

Cousins had over 400 yards when Younghoe Koo’s 52-yard field goal sent them to overtime.

After winning the coin toss, Cousins found London on back-to-back plays, for six and 18 yards, respectively. However, on the latter, London suffered a crushing hit from corner Zyon McCollum that sent him to the sidelines for a play to catch his breath.

Little did he know, his services would no longer be necessary. As Hodge trotted to the 45-yard line, he didn’t know that destiny was calling him. But as he continues to do over and over again for this Falcons team, he was ready to answer.

Thank you for going down memory lane with me if you’ve made it this far. This season should be characterized as disappointing, but it is nice to settle down for a second and relish in the silver linings.

Remember the good times and cherish them. You never know when you may get another chance to.